


Explosion

by WinterWitch611



Series: Whumptober 2019 [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Accidents, Canon-Typical Violence, Guilt, Hurt Clint Barton, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 12:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21161417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterWitch611/pseuds/WinterWitch611
Summary: Clint has a very bad day. One poor decision lands him in the hospital. Curiosity almost kills the cat.





	Explosion

**Author's Note:**

> The is part of a Tumblr Whumptober challange

When Clint got out of bed to start his day he had no idea how much his life would change by the end of it. If he had known, he wouldn’t have been lazy and skipped sparring with Nat. He would have gone for a run with Sam and Scott when they invited him. He wouldn’t have brushed Steve off when he asked him to review some mission files. He definitely would NOT have joined Tony in his lab; and most importantly he would have told Bucky how he felt.

Doing any one of these things could have changed the course of his day. If he could just have a do-over—a mulligan of sorts. A chance to make better decisions and not be such a complete disaster. That’s probably asking too much.

He never wanted to be a burden on anyone. He’s always been able to take care of himself without relying on anyone for help.

Until now. 

~~~~~~~~~

“Good morning sunshine!” Natasha sing-songs as she poured her coffee. “Damn Barton, You look like you slept under a dumpster.” She could have added ‘no offense’, but that would have been a lie. 

“Save it. It’s way too early for your insults, Romanoff,” he replies while making grabby hands at the coffee pot she was holding. “Gimmee.”

She didn’t even bother handing him a mug knowing full well he wasn’t going to use it. They’ve been friends for far too long. They know each other inside and out—quirks and all. Clint had the coffee pot up to his lips and was just about to chug it down when Tony appeared in the doorway.

“DROP IT KATNISS!” he shouts. “How can you be so disgusting this early in the morning? Where you raised by wolves?” he adds as he snatches the pot from Clint’s grasp. 

Clint responds with an audible whimper. 

“Actually, now that you mention it…,” Natasha begins as a less than amused Bucky cuts her off.

“Really? What’s with you guys? Picking on him before he’s had his coffee is just cruel.” He makes his feelings crystal clear when he snatches the coffee pot out of Tony’s hand and gives it back to Clint. 

“Where the hell were you, Robo Cop? I didn’t even hear you come in. Do I have to put a bell around your neck?” Tony asks.

“Try it, Stark. I dare you,” Bucky’s glare is a conversation ender. 

Tony opens his mouth to respond but just turns to leave instead. He shouts over his shoulder as he walks away, “Meet me in my lab later, Legolas. I have some new toys for you to try out. Leave your attack dog here.”

Bucky makes a move toward Tony but Clint grabs his arm to stop him. “Down boy! Leave it. Leeeeave it.” The humor of being talked to like a dog seems to be lost on Bucky. Natasha on the other hand, understands completely and tries to stifle her laughter to no avail. 

“I really hope you guys are enjoying yourselves. And here I was trying to rescue a damsel in distress. No appreciation… damn.” Bucky turns around to see Clint’s mouth hanging open in shock. 

“Damsel? Did you just call me a damsel? Wow.” The insulted archer clutches his chest and adds, “I’m hurt. You hurt me.”

“Mmmhmm. You called me a dog; I called you a damsel. We’re even.”

“Alright you two,” Natasha chimes in. “that’s enough flirting for today.” She shoos them away and adds, “Take your coffee and go. I want to eat my breakfast in peace. Go play.”

The two grown men stick their tongues out at her. She rolls her eyes and picks up a newspaper and the coffee she was trying desperately to enjoy before she was so rudely interrupted. 

“Come on Buck, let’s go play Mario Kart for a bit. Don’t wanna disturb the queen any further,” Clint says as he tugs on Bucky’s sleeve trying to get him to follow along. 

“Can’t. Gotta meet Stevie to review some mission files. Didn’t he tell you to be in the conference room at eight o’clock, too? He told me he was gonna have FRIDAY remind you.”

Now it’s Clint’s turn to roll his eyes. The last thing he wants to do on a Saturday morning is review mission files. It’s not like their jobs are nine to five, Monday through Friday, but he likes to pretend the weekends are his time to relax. He just wants to lay on the couch and slowly become one with the cushions. 

“Bucky, just tell Steve Clint is with me and he must have forgotten. I need a sparring partner anyway,” Nat says with a shrug. As she gets up to leave room she adds, “I’ll be in the gym. You better show up, Barton.” 

Clint doesn't get a chance to respond as Sam and Scott enter the room arguing over the location of their morning run. Sometimes it seems no one around this place can have a normal conversation. It’s always arguing and bickering of some sort. 

“Come on man! I’m sick if that same old route. Can’t we run somewhere else today? I need new scenery. I’m bored,” Scott whines as he pours his coffee. He looks up and all eyes are on him. “Good morning everyone. Have you met my boring friend, Sam? He likes to run the exact same route everyday in an attempt to drive me insane.” 

Sam rolls his eyes and snatches the coffee pot from Scott’s grasp. “Get over yourself man. Maybe we just need to add some new blood.” He motions toward Clint and Bucky. 

“Pass,” the duo responds in unison. No one likes to run with Sam and Scott. They bicker like an old married couple the entire time. They’re also too slow. It’s more of a leisurely stroll if you compare their pace to that of Steve or Bucky. 

“No No NO! No meetings, No running, No sparring. I just want to be a slug today, is that too much to ask?” Clint turns to Bucky and quietly adds, “Come be a slug with me. There’s something I want to talk to you about anyway.”

“Ugh, they’re whispering again,” Sam states in an exasperated tone. “Come on Scott. Let’s leave the love birds alone.” 

“Excuse me?!” Bucky whips his head around to glare at Sam. Clint turns bright red and slinks away before Bucky notices. He didn’t realize he was that obvious. It seems to be obvious to everyone but Bucky.

~~~~~~~~~

“Tony?” Clint enters the lab but doesn’t see anyone so he tries calling out a second time. “C’mon Stark, you told me to meet you down here. Where the hell are you?”

There’s no response and it feels wrong to be in the lab without Tony present. Just as the archer is about to leave he notices and few arrows on a workbench. There is a different color tip on each and his curiosity gets the better of him. 

He lifts and inspects each arrow in turn. Just as he’s about to return the red arrow to its former position a light begins to blink in the tip followed by a beep. He doesn’t get a chance to register his mistake as the explosion knocks him back fifteen feet into a wall. 

In seconds, Bucky, Sam and Scott are there. They were the closest to the lab when Clint made his extreme error in judgement. What they find is something that will haunt their dreams. 

“Clint? Clint, please,” Bucky begs as he kneels next to the mangled frame before him. “Don’t do this to me. Not now. This isn’t how you go out.”

“Jesus Christ, is that his bone?” Scott asks as he tries to stop the stream of blood from Clint’s leg. Pressure isn’t working so he uses a nearby cord as a tourniquet. Sam does the same for his arm as Bucky continues to talk to him, trying to assure him everything will be okay. 

Even though he doesn’t believe it, he keeps talking. As the medical team loads Clint on a stretcher, he keeps talking. While Clint is in surgery, he keeps talking. This time it’s to himself as he paces the waiting room. The whole team is there, but Bucky has nothing to say to them. He never got the chance to tell Clint how he feels. Now he has to convince himself that he’ll still get that chance. He fell for Clint a while ago but had no idea it was mutual until today. 

Now it may be too late.

~~~~~~~~~~

Time seems to slow to a crawl. It takes hours for the doctors to inform them the surgery went well. It’s going to be a long recovery. They can see him once he wakes up and that feels like it’s taking days to happen. Just enough time for Bucky to completely overthink the days events and fully blame himself.

He replays the their last conversation in his head. It was that one off handed comment. He finally got it. His reaction was what made Clint leave the room. As that realization hits him he can’t hold his emotions back any longer. 

“This is my fault!” he yells as he punches a hole in the wall next to him. “If I didn’t react like an asshole he wouldn’t have been in the lab. He woulda been with ME!” As he raises his arm to go for a second punch Steve grabs his fist.

“STOP! This is not your fault. It was an accident.” Steve yells at his best friend to try to get the message across. “Clint knew better than to touch anything in the lab. He made a mistake. Now you think it’s your fault. Tony won’t come down from his floor because he thinks it’s his fault.” He throws his hands in the air as if to say he gives up. 

Of course everyone is blaming themselves. Sam and Scott should have forced him to go for a run. Nat should have forced him to spar. Steve should have forced him to do his job even though it’s the weekend. And Bucky should have told him he loves him. 

Before anyone else can express their feelings of guilt a nurse appears in the doorway. “Sergeant Barnes, Agent Barton would like to see you.”

“Me?” Bucky points at Natasha. “Don’t you mean he wants to see her?”

“No, sir. He was very specific. He’d like to see you.”

Bucky stands still for a moment trying to decide what to do. Natasha helps him along by shoving him toward Clint’s room. “Go. There’s no decision to be made here. He wants to see you. Just go.”

After allowing himself to be maneuvered into the doorway he freezes. He wasn’t ready for what he sees. Clint is covered in tubes and wires. Metal rods are sticking out of his arm and leg and most of his head is wrapped with bandages. 

He can see Clint’s eyes widen slightly when he spots him. No turning back now. He slowly makes his way to the injured man’s side. 

“Hey, sweetheart. Looks like you got yourself in a jam, huh?”

There’s no response right away and Bucky is afraid he’s already overstepped by using a pet name. But when he finally summons the courage to look Clint in the eye he can see the tears forming.

“I asked for you so I could tell you to forget about me,” Clint manages in a hushed tone. “I’m even more useless now. Besides my arm and leg, I think my hearing is mostly shot. I thought you just called me sweetheart.”

”I did,” Bucky confirms as he reaches to hold Clint’s uninjured hand. “You aren’t useless. You’re everything I’ve ever wished for. And I don’t give a shit about any of this.” He waves his hand back and forth over Clint’s broken body. “I’m all in. I just wish I told you sooner. Maybe if I had you wouldn’t be lying here right now.”

“Really, Terminator?” Tony enters the room just in time to ruin the moment. “You finally profess your love and you’re already sending our injured teammate on guilt trip?” He moves to Clint’s bedside to be sure he doesn’t miss what he says next. 

“Now really isn’t the time for your bullshit, Stark. Can you just…” Before Bucky can finish the sentence Tony is talking over him. 

“Look, Barton,” he begins. “this is my fault, No one but me.” Bucky tries to protest to no avail, he’s cut off again. “As I was saying,” he glares at Barnes as if to say ‘just shut up’, “You take all the time you need. You’ll have the best care, best rehab, the best of everything. You have my word.” He hesitates for a moment then adds, “I’m sorry,” as he turns and quickly exits the room. 

“Tony!” Clint tries to yell out but it causes him to wince in pain. He scrunches his eyes closed and sucks in a breath through clenched teeth. 

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Bucky starts. “How about you get some rest and I’ll go talk to Stark. Gotta get some of that guilt off his shoulders before he ends up in a bed next to you.”

“Thanks, Bucky,” Clint whispers. “Have I told you lately that I love you?” 

He bends to place a gentle kiss on Clint’s forehead.

“Well, no. But I really like the sound of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by Caramell0w


End file.
